Core of Knowledge

The house was nondescript. It was a wooden house in a long street of wooden house, all of which looked well-worn and in need of cleaning and repairs. If Pos had to walk pass these houses at night, he would only do so with a hand on the pommel of his axe. Now in the day, things weren’t that different.

It was that kind of a neighbourhood.

After a short walk, Pos finally saw the well he was looking for. He turned north and walked till he was standing in front of the third house. If he had not been told the meeting was to be held at this location, he would have just walked pass the house. Now, he wondered if he still should. After a short moment of hesitation, the dwarf sighed and walked in.

As he stepped inside, it became clear that the house was not as run down as it looked. The interior of the house was dim, dingy and depressing, but there were iron bars behind the closed windows and some magical runes were written on the inside of the house. Pos had no doubt the runes were there to block scrying spells.

There were three dwarves in the house when Pos arrived. One was Maglor, the agent of the king who had set this up, the other two were a pair of female dwarves. Both were a little shorter than Pos and Pos recognized them both.

Noghoula Whitbrew was a short and blocky dwarf with blood-red hair and a bushy beard that was tied in twin braids. A sword was on her back with the pommel of the sword within easy reach. Like Pos, she was wearing armour though hers was far less bulky, more in line with the [Berserker] class she had. Like most berserkers Pos had met, the female dwarf’s black eyes shone with intensity and bloodlust.

Vormarobe Flinthand was different. She wore a dark green robe, and her ashen hair was tied in a neat ponytail. She did not tie her beard, but it was neat, tidy, and well-combed. She wasn’t carrying any weapon that Pos could see, but she did not need to. Most sorceresses do not carry staffs or wands.

There was a long oval-shaped table in the middle of the room and all three dwarves were seated on the chairs arranged around them. There were three other empty seats left, and Pos took one of them.

“Nog. Vorma. Surprised to see both of you here.” Pos ventured. Unlike males, female dwarves were given longer names at their birth. It was a show of their importance to the dwarven people, but almost everyone shortened their names for everyday use.

“Why? You have a problem working with us?” Nog asked, heat clearly evidenced in her voice.

“No,” Pos calmly replied. “I’m just surprised. I did not expect you two, didn’t even know either of you were in the area.”

“When a new dungeon is found, you make your way there. Especially if the ‘discoverer’ is a follow dwarf.” Vorma slyly answered.

“Don’t you start as well,” Pos grumbled softly as he rolled his eyes. The two female dwarves chuckled at his reaction. Apparently, knowledge about him finding the dungeon had spread throughout the region.

“Why are the two of you here though? Both of you are Classed females. I would think you would try to be as far away from an agent of the king as possible.” Pos asked.

“Gold is gold.” Nog simply said, as if that was the answer to everything. For a dwarf, it could be, but Vorma had a different answer to Pos’ question.

“I may have left the world below, but I have no hatred for the kingdom, our [King], or our way of life. Even returned a few times to visit family, unlike some.”

“Yeah. We’re the ones who should be surprised at your presence.” Nog agreed, Pos’ hatred for their [King] was no secret.

“What can I say? I have been telling our dear agent to go eat goat dung since we met, but he keeps coming back. He wore me down.” Pos laughed as Maglor sat impassively at the insult.

The three adventurers engaged in some small talk as they waited for the rest of the party. Pos did not need to wait long as the last two members of the party arrived moments after his arrival.

Pos did not recognize the first dwarf that came through the door. The dwarf was wearing the plate armour of a [Knight] with an elaborate helmet with twin horns on the front. His sword and shield showed his Class and way of fighting, and his breastplate had a motif of a stag in the middle of a large circle. Pos thought he looked as pretentious as an empty mine.

Jes Doublestone entered after him. He was wearing a white robe without any markings or symbols, but he was carrying a book with the picture of a tower on the cover. A silver chain attached the book to his belt showing how important the book was to him, and Pos knew that the chain wasn’t just for show.

Jes Doublestone was a [Scholar], and like most [Scholars], he treated books like treasures. Rumours had it that Jes left the world below because he did not think dwarves treated books with the reverence they deserved. From his brief interactions with the scholar over the years, Pos believed the rumours and he was a little surprised by the scholar’s presence. Jes was no adventurer, but one of those rare dwarves who was more comfortable in a library than in a dungeon. Pos wondered why the scholar was here.

The two arrivals took their place at the table, and Maglor stood.

“Welcome everyone, I am glad to see that all of you had accepted my invitation. Now that everyone is here, I shall-”

“Wait a moment, I thought the quest was to take on the Bamboo Forest room in the dungeon.” Jes Doublestone quickly interrupted.

Everyone was surprised by the interruption, but Maglor quickly recovered. “Yeah, that’s right. Is there a problem?”

“Yes, there is. There are five of us,” Jes pointed at all the adventurers at the table. “The Bamboo Forest room only allows four to take the path. Why is there an extra dwarf here?”

“Keep in mind that dungeon delving is a dangerous profession, and this dungeon has a particular high death rate. The Adventurer Guild are still losing adventurers on the first floor. The extra dwarf is a redundancy to make sure we have a full party to take on the room.” Maglor calmly replied.

“So, we have an extra member in case someone falls on the first floor. What happens if we all managed to get to the second floor? Do we leave someone behind? And if we do, who will it be?” The [Knight] asked.

“Each of you will be equipped with a Recall Stone,” Maglor answered. “As for the dwarf left behind, I shall let the party decide on that though I will say that both Jes Doublestone and Vormarobe Flinthand will be needed for the puzzle in room.”

“You want us to complete the puzzle?” Nog asked, no doubt displeased with the news.

“I want the treasure for being the first to clear the room. That means completing the puzzle.” The agent confirmed.

The [Knight], Nog and Pos looked each other. The three realized that Maglor was right. Jes and Vorma were needed for the puzzle and magic, so one of them needs to go.

Pos graciously stepped up. “That should be me. Among the three of us, I have the lowest level. I can tell everyone what to expect in the dungeon, but I don’t really have any experience in the Bamboo Forest Room.”

“Your share of the treasure will be lower if you do not enter into the room.” Maglor warned.

“What else is new from the kingdom below.” Pos stiffly replied as he gave Maglor a sour look. The agent just smiled in response.

Nog and the [Knight] nodded at Pos in appreciation as everyone kept quiet. Pos’ dislike of the dwarven king was well-known among the dwarven community and no one thought that it was strange that an agent of the said-king would have it out for him.

Maglor gave everyone a look before continuing with the meeting. It went smoothly with everyone discussing on the latest information provided by the Adventurer Guild. A few questions were tossed at Pos about the dungeon, and he answered as best he could.

As he went through his experience with the dungeon, Pos could see that the rest of the party were giving him a newfound level of respect. Part of it was due to his fame, and the rest was because Pos had agreed to remove himself from delving the room. The party knew Pos was not thrilled with the prospect of serving the king and was here only for the gold. There was nothing wrong with that. They were dwarves, and gold was gold, so they appreciated the fact that Pos had taken the hit removing himself from the delve.

Unknown to the rest of the party, his selfless removal was something Pos and the Maglor had agreed to beforehand. With his low levels, both Pos and Maglor knew he would not be of much help in the Bamboo Forest Room, but fame goes a long way in adventuring circles. Most adventurers wished to say that they had delved with an adventurer with a title, and despite his protest, Pos was a ‘Discoverer’. Once Maglor let it be known that Pos was going on the delve, other adventurers were more willing to listen to his offer.

Maglor needed Pos for his name, not for his strength of arms.

Once the party was formed, there was no need for Pos, and the duo had discussed beforehand on how to safely remove Pos from the delving without damaging the cohesion of the party. Like Maglor said at the inn, the agent only needed Pos to put the party together.

Pos did not feel bad about fooling the party. Things could go wrong on the first floor, and if that happened, then Pos would to enter the room with the party. That was part of his agreement with Maglor and Pos did not mind that. In his mind, it was as if he had signed on as a backup.

The meeting continued till the evening. When it concluded, everyone went their separate ways. There was no talk about meeting at the inn for a few drinks, or getting to know each other. This was just business. Pos went back to the inn, happy with the way the meeting went.

It was one of the easiest paydays he ever had.